diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/CacheFactoryBean.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/CacheFactoryBean.java
index 9b4c2f5e..e33b4680 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/CacheFactoryBean.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/CacheFactoryBean.java
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ public class CacheFactoryBean implements BeanNameAware, BeanFactoryAware, BeanCl
 			}
 
 			if (gatewayConflictResolver != null) {
-				cacheImpl.setGatewayConflictResolver(gatewayConflictResolver);
+				cacheImpl.setGatewayConflictResolver((GatewayConflictResolver) gatewayConflictResolver);
 			}
 		}
 	}
@@ -267,7 +267,8 @@ public class CacheFactoryBean implements BeanNameAware, BeanFactoryAware, BeanCl
 
 	protected List<Function> functions;
 
-	protected GatewayConflictResolver gatewayConflictResolver;
+	// Defined this way for backward compatibility
+	protected Object gatewayConflictResolver;
 
 	@Override
 	public void afterPropertiesSet() throws Exception {
@@ -632,7 +633,12 @@ public class CacheFactoryBean implements BeanNameAware, BeanFactoryAware, BeanCl
 		this.functions = functions;
 	}
 
-	public void setGatewayConflictResolver(GatewayConflictResolver gatewayConflictResolver) {
+	/**
+	 * 
+	 * @param gatewayConflictResolver defined as Object for backward
+	 * compatibility with Gemfire 6 compatibility
+	 */
+	public void setGatewayConflictResolver(Object gatewayConflictResolver) {
 		this.gatewayConflictResolver = gatewayConflictResolver;
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/DataPolicyConverter.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/DataPolicyConverter.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f6a426db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/DataPolicyConverter.java
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2010-2012 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.data.gemfire;
+
+import org.springframework.core.convert.converter.Converter;
+
+import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.DataPolicy;
+
+/**
+ * @author David Turanski
+ * 
+ */
+public class DataPolicyConverter implements Converter<String, DataPolicy> {
+	private static enum Policy {
+		EMPTY, DEFAULT, NORMAL, PERSISTENT_PARTITION, PERSISTENT_REPLICATE, PRELOADED, REPLICATE;
+		public DataPolicy toDataPolicy() {
+			DataPolicy dataPolicy = null;
+			switch (this) {
+			case EMPTY:
+				dataPolicy = DataPolicy.EMPTY;
+				break;
+			case DEFAULT:
+				dataPolicy = DataPolicy.DEFAULT;
+				break;
+			case NORMAL:
+				dataPolicy = DataPolicy.NORMAL;
+				break;
+			case PERSISTENT_PARTITION:
+				dataPolicy = DataPolicy.PERSISTENT_PARTITION;
+				break;
+			case PERSISTENT_REPLICATE:
+				dataPolicy = DataPolicy.PERSISTENT_REPLICATE;
+				break;
+			case PRELOADED:
+				dataPolicy = DataPolicy.PRELOADED;
+				break;
+			case REPLICATE:
+				dataPolicy = DataPolicy.REPLICATE;
+				break;
+			}
+			return dataPolicy;
+		}
+
+		public static Policy getValue(String value) {
+			Policy policy = null;
+			try {
+				policy = valueOf(value);
+			}
+			catch (Exception e) {
+			}
+			return policy;
+		}
+	};
+
+	@Override
+	public DataPolicy convert(String source) {
+		if (source == null) {
+			return null;
+		}
+		source = source.toUpperCase();
+		return Policy.getValue(source) == null ? null : Policy.getValue(source).toDataPolicy();
+	}
+
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/LocalRegionFactoryBean.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/LocalRegionFactoryBean.java
index e5db8f69..55186439 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/LocalRegionFactoryBean.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/LocalRegionFactoryBean.java
@@ -17,27 +17,44 @@ package org.springframework.data.gemfire;
 
 import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.DataPolicy;
 import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.RegionFactory;
+import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.Scope;
 
 /**
  * @author David Turanski
  * 
  */
 public class LocalRegionFactoryBean<K, V> extends RegionFactoryBean<K, V> {
+	@Override
+	public void setScope(Scope scope) {
+		throw new UnsupportedOperationException("setScope() is not allowed for Local Regions");
+	}
 
 	@Override
-	protected void resolveDataPolicy(RegionFactory<K, V> regionFactory, boolean persistent, String dataPolicyName) {
-		if (dataPolicyName != null) {
-			if ("NORMAL".equals(dataPolicyName) || dataPolicyName == null) {
+	public void setPersistent(boolean persistent) {
+		throw new UnsupportedOperationException("setPersistent() is not allowed for Local Regions");
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public void afterPropertiesSet() throws Exception {
+		super.setScope(Scope.LOCAL);
+		super.afterPropertiesSet();
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	protected void resolveDataPolicy(RegionFactory<K, V> regionFactory, Boolean persistent, String dataPolicy) {
+		if (dataPolicy != null) {
+			dataPolicy = dataPolicy.toUpperCase();
+			if ("NORMAL".equals(dataPolicy) || dataPolicy == null) {
 				regionFactory.setDataPolicy(DataPolicy.NORMAL);
 			}
-			else if ("PRELOADED".equals(dataPolicyName)) {
+			else if ("PRELOADED".equals(dataPolicy)) {
 				regionFactory.setDataPolicy(DataPolicy.PRELOADED);
 			}
-			else if ("EMPTY".equals(dataPolicyName)) {
+			else if ("EMPTY".equals(dataPolicy)) {
 				regionFactory.setDataPolicy(DataPolicy.EMPTY);
 			}
 			else {
-				throw new IllegalArgumentException("Data policy '" + dataPolicyName
+				throw new IllegalArgumentException("Data policy '" + dataPolicy
 						+ "' is unsupported or invalid for local regions.");
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/PartitionedRegionFactoryBean.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/PartitionedRegionFactoryBean.java
index 00764171..523dfe53 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/PartitionedRegionFactoryBean.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/PartitionedRegionFactoryBean.java
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ package org.springframework.data.gemfire;
 
 import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentMap;
 
+import org.springframework.util.Assert;
+
 import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.CacheFactory;
 import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.DataPolicy;
 import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.Region;
@@ -29,8 +31,23 @@ import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.RegionFactory;
 public class PartitionedRegionFactoryBean<K, V> extends RegionFactoryBean<K, V> {
 
 	@Override
-	protected void resolveDataPolicy(RegionFactory<K, V> regionFactory, boolean persistent, String dataPolicyName) {
-		if (persistent) {
+	protected void resolveDataPolicy(RegionFactory<K, V> regionFactory, Boolean persistent, String dataPolicy) {
+		if (dataPolicy != null) {
+			DataPolicy dp = new DataPolicyConverter().convert(dataPolicy);
+			Assert.notNull(dp, "Data policy " + dataPolicy + " is invalid");
+			Assert.isTrue(dp.withPartitioning(), "Data Policy " + dp.toString()
+					+ " is not supported in partitioned regions");
+			if (!isPersistent()) {
+				regionFactory.setDataPolicy(dp);
+			}
+			else {
+				Assert.isTrue(dp.withPersistence(), "Data Policy " + dp.toString()
+						+ "is invalid when persistent is false");
+				regionFactory.setDataPolicy(dp);
+			}
+			return;
+		}
+		if (isPersistent()) {
 			// check first for GemFire 6.5
 			if (ConcurrentMap.class.isAssignableFrom(Region.class)) {
 				regionFactory.setDataPolicy(DataPolicy.PERSISTENT_PARTITION);
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/RegionFactoryBean.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/RegionFactoryBean.java
index 965bc84e..daaab3aa 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/RegionFactoryBean.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/RegionFactoryBean.java
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.CacheClosedException;
 import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.CacheListener;
 import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.CacheLoader;
 import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.CacheWriter;
+import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.DataPolicy;
 import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.GemFireCache;
 import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.Region;
 import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.RegionAttributes;
@@ -54,7 +55,7 @@ import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.wan.GatewaySender;
  * @author Costin Leau
  * @author David Turanski
  */
-public abstract class RegionFactoryBean<K, V> extends RegionLookupFactoryBean<K, V> implements DisposableBean {
+public class RegionFactoryBean<K, V> extends RegionLookupFactoryBean<K, V> implements DisposableBean {
 
 	protected final Log log = LogFactory.getLog(getClass());
 
@@ -70,15 +71,15 @@ public abstract class RegionFactoryBean<K, V> extends RegionLookupFactoryBean<K,
 
 	private CacheWriter<K, V> cacheWriter;
 
-	private GatewaySender gatewaySenders[];
+	private Object gatewaySenders[];
 
-	private AsyncEventQueue asyncEventQueues[];
+	private Object asyncEventQueues[];
 
 	private RegionAttributes<K, V> attributes;
 
 	private Scope scope;
 
-	private boolean persistent;
+	private Boolean persistent;
 
 	private Boolean enableGateway;
 
@@ -86,7 +87,7 @@ public abstract class RegionFactoryBean<K, V> extends RegionLookupFactoryBean<K,
 
 	private String diskStoreName;
 
-	private String dataPolicyName;
+	private String dataPolicy;
 
 	private Region<K, V> region;
 
@@ -131,14 +132,14 @@ public abstract class RegionFactoryBean<K, V> extends RegionLookupFactoryBean<K,
 			Assert.isTrue(
 					hubId == null,
 					"It is invalid to configure a region with both a hubId and gatewaySenders. Note that the enableGateway and hubId properties are deprecated since Gemfire 7.0");
-			for (GatewaySender gatewaySender : gatewaySenders) {
-				regionFactory.addGatewaySender(gatewaySender);
+			for (Object gatewaySender : gatewaySenders) {
+				regionFactory.addGatewaySender((GatewaySender) gatewaySender);
 			}
 		}
 
 		if (!ObjectUtils.isEmpty(asyncEventQueues)) {
-			for (AsyncEventQueue asyncEventQueue : asyncEventQueues) {
-				regionFactory.addAsyncEventQueue(asyncEventQueue);
+			for (Object asyncEventQueue : asyncEventQueues) {
+				regionFactory.addAsyncEventQueue((AsyncEventQueue) asyncEventQueue);
 			}
 		}
 
@@ -150,7 +151,7 @@ public abstract class RegionFactoryBean<K, V> extends RegionLookupFactoryBean<K,
 			regionFactory.setCacheWriter(cacheWriter);
 		}
 
-		resolveDataPolicy(regionFactory, persistent, dataPolicyName);
+		resolveDataPolicy(regionFactory, persistent, dataPolicy);
 
 		if (scope != null) {
 			regionFactory.setScope(scope);
@@ -180,8 +181,31 @@ public abstract class RegionFactoryBean<K, V> extends RegionLookupFactoryBean<K,
 		return reg;
 	}
 
-	protected abstract void resolveDataPolicy(RegionFactory<K, V> regionFactory, boolean persistent,
-			String dataPolicyName);
+	/**
+	 * This validates the configured data policy and may override it, taking
+	 * into account the persistent attribute and constraints for the region type
+	 * @param regionFactory
+	 * @param persistent
+	 * @param dataPolicy requested data policy
+	 */
+	protected void resolveDataPolicy(RegionFactory<K, V> regionFactory, Boolean persistent, String dataPolicy) {
+		if (dataPolicy == null) {
+			if (isPersistent()) {
+				regionFactory.setDataPolicy(DataPolicy.PERSISTENT_REPLICATE);
+			}
+			else {
+				regionFactory.setDataPolicy(DataPolicy.DEFAULT);
+			}
+			return;
+		}
+
+		DataPolicy dp = new DataPolicyConverter().convert(dataPolicy);
+		Assert.notNull(dp, "Data policy " + dataPolicy + " is invalid");
+		if (dp.withPersistence()) {
+			Assert.isTrue(!isNotPersistent(), "Data policy " + dataPolicy + " is invalid when persistent is false");
+		}
+		regionFactory.setDataPolicy(dp);
+	}
 
 	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
 	private AttributesFactory<K, V> findAttrFactory(RegionFactory<K, V> regionFactory) {
@@ -330,10 +354,10 @@ public abstract class RegionFactoryBean<K, V> extends RegionLookupFactoryBean<K,
 	/**
 	 * Sets the dataPolicy as a String. Required to support property
 	 * placeholders
-	 * @param dataPolicyName the dataPolicy name (NORMAL, PRELOADED, etc)
+	 * @param dataPolicy the dataPolicy name (NORMAL, PRELOADED, etc)
 	 */
-	public void setDataPolicyName(String dataPolicyName) {
-		this.dataPolicyName = dataPolicyName;
+	public void setDataPolicy(String dataPolicyName) {
+		this.dataPolicy = dataPolicyName;
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -344,11 +368,21 @@ public abstract class RegionFactoryBean<K, V> extends RegionLookupFactoryBean<K,
 		this.diskStoreName = diskStoreName;
 	}
 
-	public void setGatewaySenders(GatewaySender[] gatewaySenders) {
+	/**
+	 * 
+	 * @param gatewaySenders defined as Object for backward compatibility with
+	 * Gemfire 6
+	 */
+	public void setGatewaySenders(Object[] gatewaySenders) {
 		this.gatewaySenders = gatewaySenders;
 	}
 
-	public void setAsyncEventQueues(AsyncEventQueue[] asyncEventQueues) {
+	/**
+	 * 
+	 * @param asyncEventQueues defined as Object for backward compatibility with
+	 * Gemfire 6
+	 */
+	public void setAsyncEventQueues(Object[] asyncEventQueues) {
 		this.asyncEventQueues = asyncEventQueues;
 	}
 
@@ -370,4 +404,12 @@ public abstract class RegionFactoryBean<K, V> extends RegionLookupFactoryBean<K,
 	public void setAttributes(RegionAttributes<K, V> attributes) {
 		this.attributes = attributes;
 	}
+
+	protected boolean isPersistent() {
+		return persistent != null && persistent;
+	}
+
+	protected boolean isNotPersistent() {
+		return persistent != null && !persistent;
+	}
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/ReplicatedRegionFactoryBean.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/ReplicatedRegionFactoryBean.java
index 5d50c439..87737957 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/ReplicatedRegionFactoryBean.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/ReplicatedRegionFactoryBean.java
@@ -26,22 +26,28 @@ import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.RegionFactory;
  */
 public class ReplicatedRegionFactoryBean<K, V> extends RegionFactoryBean<K, V> {
 	@Override
-	protected void resolveDataPolicy(RegionFactory<K, V> regionFactory, boolean persistent, String dataPolicyName) {
-
-		DataPolicy dataPolicy = null;
-		if (dataPolicyName != null) {
-			if ("EMPTY".equals(dataPolicyName)) {
-				Assert.isTrue(!persistent, "Cannot have persistence on an empty region");
-				dataPolicy = DataPolicy.EMPTY;
+	protected void resolveDataPolicy(RegionFactory<K, V> regionFactory, Boolean persistent, String dataPolicy) {
+		DataPolicy dp = null;
+		if (dataPolicy != null) {
+			dataPolicy = dataPolicy.toUpperCase();
+			if ("EMPTY".equals(dataPolicy)) {
+				Assert.isTrue(persistent == null || !persistent, "Cannot have persistence on an empty region");
+				dp = DataPolicy.EMPTY;
 			}
 			else {
-				throw new IllegalArgumentException("Data policy '" + dataPolicyName
-						+ "' is unsupported or invalid for replicated regions.");
+				dp = new DataPolicyConverter().convert(dataPolicy);
+				Assert.notNull(dp, "Data policy " + dataPolicy + " is invalid");
+				Assert.isTrue(dp.withReplication(), "Data policy " + dataPolicy
+						+ " is invalid or unsupported in replicated regions");
+				if (isPersistent()) {
+					Assert.isTrue(dp.withPersistence(), "Data policy " + dataPolicy
+							+ " is invalid when persistent is false");
+				}
 			}
 		}
 		else {
-			dataPolicy = persistent ? DataPolicy.PERSISTENT_REPLICATE : DataPolicy.REPLICATE;
+			dp = (isPersistent()) ? DataPolicy.PERSISTENT_REPLICATE : DataPolicy.REPLICATE;
 		}
-		regionFactory.setDataPolicy(dataPolicy);
+		regionFactory.setDataPolicy(dp);
 	}
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/config/AbstractRegionParser.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/config/AbstractRegionParser.java
index ea87971d..9a298c66 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/config/AbstractRegionParser.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/config/AbstractRegionParser.java
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ abstract class AbstractRegionParser extends AliasReplacingBeanDefinitionParser {
 			ParsingUtils.setPropertyValue(element, builder, "persistent");
 		}
 		// set the data policy
-		ParsingUtils.setPropertyValue(element, builder, "data-policy", "dataPolicyName");
+		ParsingUtils.setPropertyValue(element, builder, "data-policy");
 
 		if (StringUtils.hasText(element.getAttribute("disk-store-ref"))) {
 			ParsingUtils.setPropertyValue(element, builder, "disk-store-ref", "diskStoreName");
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/config/LocalRegionParser.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/config/LocalRegionParser.java
index e948cc58..e6bea01f 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/config/LocalRegionParser.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/config/LocalRegionParser.java
@@ -22,12 +22,9 @@ import org.springframework.data.gemfire.LocalRegionFactoryBean;
 import org.springframework.data.gemfire.RegionAttributesFactoryBean;
 import org.w3c.dom.Element;
 
-import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.Scope;
-
 /**
- * Parser for &lt;replicated-region;gt; definitions.
+ * Parser for &lt;local-region;gt; definitions.
  * 
- * @author Costin Leau
  * @author David Turanski
  */
 class LocalRegionParser extends AbstractRegionParser {
@@ -35,8 +32,6 @@ class LocalRegionParser extends AbstractRegionParser {
 	protected void doParseRegion(Element element, ParserContext parserContext, BeanDefinitionBuilder builder,
 			boolean subRegion) {
 
-		builder.addPropertyValue("scope", Scope.LOCAL);
-
 		BeanDefinitionBuilder attrBuilder = subRegion ? builder : BeanDefinitionBuilder
 				.genericBeanDefinition(RegionAttributesFactoryBean.class);
 
diff --git a/src/main/resources/org/springframework/data/gemfire/config/spring-gemfire-1.2.xsd b/src/main/resources/org/springframework/data/gemfire/config/spring-gemfire-1.2.xsd
index bf5178ed..297ff13f 100755
--- a/src/main/resources/org/springframework/data/gemfire/config/spring-gemfire-1.2.xsd
+++ b/src/main/resources/org/springframework/data/gemfire/config/spring-gemfire-1.2.xsd
@@ -541,11 +541,10 @@ use inner bean declarations.
                         </xsd:element>
                     </xsd:choice>
                 </xsd:sequence>
-                <xsd:attribute name="persistent" type="xsd:string"
-                    default="false">
+                <xsd:attribute name="persistent" type="xsd:string">
                     <xsd:annotation>
                         <xsd:documentation><![CDATA[
-Indicates whether the defined region is persistent or not. GemFire ensures that all the data you put into a region that
+Indicates whether the defined region is persistent. GemFire ensures that all the data you put into a region that
  is configured for persistence will be written to disk in a way that it can be recovered the next time you create the 
 region. This allows data to be recovered after a machine or process failure or after an orderly shutdown and restart 
 of GemFire.
@@ -948,8 +947,20 @@ Provides an estimate of the maximum number of application threads that will conc
                         ]]></xsd:documentation>
                     </xsd:annotation>
                 </xsd:attribute>
-                <xsd:attribute name="scope" type="scopeType" />
-                <xsd:attribute name="data-policy" type="baseDataPolicyType" />
+                <xsd:attribute name="scope" type="xsd:string">
+                   <xsd:annotation>
+                        <xsd:documentation><![CDATA[
+Specifies the scope for this region: distributed-ack,distributed-no-ack, global
+                        ]]></xsd:documentation>
+                    </xsd:annotation>                
+                </xsd:attribute>
+                <xsd:attribute name="data-policy" type="xsd:string">
+                    <xsd:annotation>
+                        <xsd:documentation><![CDATA[
+Specifies the data policy for this region
+                        ]]></xsd:documentation>
+                    </xsd:annotation>
+                </xsd:attribute>
                 <xsd:attribute name="is-lock-grantor"
                     type="xsd:string" use="optional" default="false">
                     <xsd:annotation>
@@ -990,7 +1001,7 @@ Provides an estimate of the maximum number of application threads that will conc
     <xsd:complexType name="baseLocalRegionType">
         <xsd:annotation>
             <xsd:documentation
-                source="org.springframework.data.gemfire.RegionFactoryBean"><![CDATA[
+                source="org.springframework.data.gemfire.ReplicatedRegionFactoryBean"><![CDATA[
 Defines a GemFire local region instance. Each local region is scoped only to the local JVM.
             ]]></xsd:documentation>
             <xsd:appinfo>
@@ -1600,7 +1611,7 @@ The action to take when performing eviction.
                         </xsd:element>
                     </xsd:sequence>
                     <xsd:attribute name="data-policy"
-                        type="baseDataPolicyType" use="optional"
+                        type="xsd:string" use="optional"
                         default="NORMAL">
                         <xsd:annotation>
                             <xsd:documentation><![CDATA[
@@ -2486,14 +2497,6 @@ The id of the cache - default is gemfire-cache
 
     <xsd:element name="gateway-receiver" type="gatewayReceiverType" />
     <!-- -->
-    <xsd:simpleType name="baseDataPolicyType">
-        <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">
-            <xsd:enumeration value="NORMAL" />
-            <xsd:enumeration value="EMPTY" />
-            <xsd:enumeration value="PRELOADED" />
-        </xsd:restriction>
-    </xsd:simpleType>
-
     <xsd:element name="function-service">
         <xsd:complexType>
             <xsd:sequence>
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/DataPolicyConverterTest.java b/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/DataPolicyConverterTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1711fa27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/DataPolicyConverterTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2010-2012 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.data.gemfire;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertNull;
+
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.DataPolicy;
+
+/**
+ * @author David Turanski
+ * 
+ */
+public class DataPolicyConverterTest {
+	DataPolicyConverter converter = new DataPolicyConverter();
+
+	@Test
+	public void test() {
+		assertEquals(DataPolicy.EMPTY, converter.convert("empty"));
+		assertNull(converter.convert("invalid"));
+		assertNull(converter.convert(null));
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/LocalRegionFactoryBeanTest.java b/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/LocalRegionFactoryBeanTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5d6b1111
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/LocalRegionFactoryBeanTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2010-2012 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.data.gemfire;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertNotNull;
+
+import org.springframework.data.gemfire.support.AbstractRegionFactoryBeanTest;
+
+import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.DataPolicy;
+import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.Region;
+
+/**
+ * @author David Turanski
+ * 
+ */
+public class LocalRegionFactoryBeanTest extends AbstractRegionFactoryBeanTest {
+
+	@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+	private RegionFactoryBeanConfig defaultConfig() {
+		return new RegionFactoryBeanConfig(new LocalRegionFactoryBean(), "default") {
+
+			@Override
+			public void verify() {
+				Region region = regionFactoryBean.getRegion();
+				assertEquals(DataPolicy.DEFAULT, region.getAttributes().getDataPolicy());
+			}
+
+			@Override
+			public void configureRegionFactoryBean() {
+				// TODO Auto-generated method stub
+			}
+		};
+	}
+
+	@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+	private RegionFactoryBeanConfig emptyConfig() {
+		return new RegionFactoryBeanConfig(new LocalRegionFactoryBean(), "empty") {
+
+			@Override
+			public void verify() {
+				Region region = regionFactoryBean.getRegion();
+				assertEquals(DataPolicy.EMPTY, region.getAttributes().getDataPolicy());
+			}
+
+			@Override
+			public void configureRegionFactoryBean() {
+				regionFactoryBean.setDataPolicy("empty");
+			}
+		};
+	}
+
+	@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+	private RegionFactoryBeanConfig invalidConfig() {
+		return new RegionFactoryBeanConfig(new LocalRegionFactoryBean(), "local-replicate") {
+
+			@Override
+			public void verify() {
+				assertNotNull(this.exception);
+			}
+
+			@Override
+			public void configureRegionFactoryBean() {
+				regionFactoryBean.setDataPolicy("replicate");
+			}
+		};
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	protected void createRegionFactoryBeanConfigs() {
+		addRFBConfig(defaultConfig());
+		addRFBConfig(emptyConfig());
+		addRFBConfig(invalidConfig());
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/RegionFactoryBeanTest.java b/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/RegionFactoryBeanTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..96620c27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/RegionFactoryBeanTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2010-2012 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.data.gemfire;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertNotNull;
+
+import org.springframework.data.gemfire.support.AbstractRegionFactoryBeanTest;
+
+import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.DataPolicy;
+import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.Region;
+
+/**
+ * @author David Turanski
+ * 
+ */
+public class RegionFactoryBeanTest extends AbstractRegionFactoryBeanTest {
+
+	@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+	private RegionFactoryBeanConfig defaultConfig() {
+		return new RegionFactoryBeanConfig(new RegionFactoryBean(), "default") {
+
+			@Override
+			public void verify() {
+				Region region = regionFactoryBean.getRegion();
+				assertEquals(DataPolicy.DEFAULT, region.getAttributes().getDataPolicy());
+			}
+
+			@Override
+			public void configureRegionFactoryBean() {
+				// TODO Auto-generated method stub
+			}
+		};
+
+	}
+
+	@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+	private RegionFactoryBeanConfig persistent() {
+		return new RegionFactoryBeanConfig(new RegionFactoryBean(), "persistent") {
+
+			@Override
+			public void verify() {
+				Region region = regionFactoryBean.getRegion();
+				assertEquals(DataPolicy.PERSISTENT_REPLICATE, region.getAttributes().getDataPolicy());
+			}
+
+			@Override
+			public void configureRegionFactoryBean() {
+				regionFactoryBean.setPersistent(true);
+			}
+		};
+	}
+
+	@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+	private RegionFactoryBeanConfig invalidPersistence() {
+		return new RegionFactoryBeanConfig(new RegionFactoryBean(), "invalid-persistence") {
+
+			@Override
+			public void configureRegionFactoryBean() {
+				regionFactoryBean.setDataPolicy("persistent_replicate");
+				regionFactoryBean.setPersistent(false);
+			}
+
+			@Override
+			public void verify() {
+				assertNotNull(this.exception);
+				assertEquals("Data policy persistent_replicate is invalid when persistent is false",
+						exception.getMessage());
+			}
+		};
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	protected void createRegionFactoryBeanConfigs() {
+		addRFBConfig(defaultConfig());
+		addRFBConfig(persistent());
+		addRFBConfig(invalidPersistence());
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/config/LocalRegionNamespaceTest.java b/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/config/LocalRegionNamespaceTest.java
index 38109ffc..83f216ba 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/config/LocalRegionNamespaceTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/config/LocalRegionNamespaceTest.java
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ public class LocalRegionNamespaceTest {
 	private void testPublishingLocal() throws Exception {
 		assertTrue(context.containsBean("pub"));
 		RegionFactoryBean fb = context.getBean("&pub", RegionFactoryBean.class);
-		assertEquals("NORMAL", TestUtils.readField("dataPolicyName", fb));
+		assertEquals("NORMAL", TestUtils.readField("dataPolicy", fb));
 		assertEquals(Scope.LOCAL, TestUtils.readField("scope", fb));
 		assertEquals("publisher", TestUtils.readField("name", fb));
 		RegionAttributes attrs = TestUtils.readField("attributes", fb);
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/support/AbstractRegionFactoryBeanTest.java b/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/support/AbstractRegionFactoryBeanTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a9684e9b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/org/springframework/data/gemfire/support/AbstractRegionFactoryBeanTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2010-2012 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package org.springframework.data.gemfire.support;
+
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.springframework.data.gemfire.CacheFactoryBean;
+import org.springframework.data.gemfire.RegionFactoryBean;
+
+import com.gemstone.gemfire.cache.GemFireCache;
+
+/**
+ * @author David Turanski
+ * 
+ */
+public abstract class AbstractRegionFactoryBeanTest {
+	protected GemFireCache cache;
+
+	Map<String, RegionFactoryBeanConfig> regionFactoryBeanConfigs = new HashMap<String, RegionFactoryBeanConfig>();
+
+	@Before
+	public void setUp() throws Exception {
+		CacheFactoryBean cfb = new CacheFactoryBean();
+		cfb.setBeanName("gemfire-cache");
+		cfb.setUseBeanFactoryLocator(false);
+		cfb.afterPropertiesSet();
+		cache = cfb.getObject();
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testAll() throws Exception {
+		createRegionFactoryBeanConfigs();
+		for (RegionFactoryBeanConfig rfbc : regionFactoryBeanConfigs.values()) {
+			rfbc.test();
+		}
+	}
+
+	protected void addRFBConfig(RegionFactoryBeanConfig rfbc) {
+		if (regionFactoryBeanConfigs.containsKey(rfbc.regionName)) {
+			throw new RuntimeException("duplicate region name " + rfbc.regionName);
+		}
+		regionFactoryBeanConfigs.put(rfbc.regionName, rfbc);
+	}
+
+	@After
+	public void tearDown() {
+		cache.close();
+	}
+
+	public abstract class RegionFactoryBeanConfig {
+		@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+		public final RegionFactoryBean regionFactoryBean;
+
+		public final String regionName;
+
+		public Exception exception;
+
+		@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+		public RegionFactoryBeanConfig(RegionFactoryBean rfb, String regionName) {
+			this.regionFactoryBean = rfb;
+			this.regionName = regionName;
+			rfb.setBeanName(regionName);
+			rfb.setCache(cache);
+		}
+
+		public void test() {
+			configureRegionFactoryBean();
+			try {
+				regionFactoryBean.afterPropertiesSet();
+			}
+			catch (Exception e) {
+				this.exception = e;
+			}
+			verify();
+		}
+
+		public abstract void configureRegionFactoryBean();
+
+		public abstract void verify();
+	}
+
+	protected abstract void createRegionFactoryBeanConfigs();
+}
diff --git a/src/test/resources/org/springframework/data/gemfire/basic-region.xml b/src/test/resources/org/springframework/data/gemfire/basic-region.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2d447767
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/resources/org/springframework/data/gemfire/basic-region.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
+    xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+    xmlns:p="http://www.springframework.org/schema/p"
+    default-lazy-init="true"
+    xmlns:gfe="http://www.springframework.org/schema/gemfire"
+    xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.springframework.org/schema/gemfire http://www.springframework.org/schema/gemfire/spring-gemfire-1.2.xsd
+		http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans.xsd">
+        
+        <gfe:cache/>
+        <bean id="replicate-persistent-region" class="org.springframework.data.gemfire.RegionFactoryBean">
+            <property name="cache" ref="gemfire-cache"/>
+            <property name="dataPolicy" value="REPLICATE_PERSISTENT"/>
+        </bean>
+</beans>